An electrical utility company may design and manage a power distribution circuit—i.e., an electrical “layout” or grid. The electrical distribution circuit may include primary wiring, a plurality of transformers and secondary wiring from each of the transformers to houses, businesses and other consumers. A large number of design requirements and constraints may complicate the design of the electrical distribution circuit. Primary circuits may be required over a large number of paths of different lengths, which provide different voltage levels and supply differently sized loads over primary wiring having different impedance characteristics. A number of differently-sized transformers may be required to provide power to varying numbers of customers having varying consumption expectations. Many customers may require single-phase power, while others may require three-phase power. Moreover, on both the primary and secondary sides of the plurality of transformers, a number of decisions regarding wire gauge must be made to provide a reliable flow of electricity while minimizing costs.
The layout of such a distribution circuit, particularly involving large numbers of circuit elements and multiple power phases, may be difficult to design using known tools.